Pune Crime: Robbers smash car window, assault bizman's family

The family was returning from Mumbai airport after a vacation; Amit Mali had stopped on expressway at 2.45 am to get a bottle of water, when the raiders attacked

A Pune-based cloth merchant’s wife and 12-year-old daughter was attacked by four armed suspects on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway in the wee hours of Monday while the two were sitting in their car parked near Taje petrol pump.

Robbed and beaten: Suspects broke the window of the car with a rod and stones and brutally assaulted Reshu Mali (34) and her 12-year-old daughter Vedika

The suspects robbed cash and valuables worth Rs 1.25 lakh from the family before fleeing in the dark. The family circulated their ordeal through a message on WhatsApp mobile app.

Amit Mali, his wife Reshu (34) and daughter Vedika (12), who reside in Kharadi, were returning to their Pune home from Mumbai after landing from a vacation in Thailand. The family had taken their car, which was parked at the house of Reshu’s brother Pankaj Sharma in Mumbai.

Narrating the horrific incident, Sharma said, “Amit and family had left Mumbai around 11.15 pm on Sunday night. When they reached near Kamshet around 2.45 am Amit felt thirsty and stopped in front of the Taje petrol pump to get a bottle of water from the food mall on the other side of the road. He had asked Reshu and Vedika to lock the car from inside till he returns.”At that time, four suspects came near the car and started shouting at Reshu to open the window. She refused and started honking.

The suspects then broke the window glass with a rod and stones and brutally assaulted the mother-daughter duo. They took away the bag containing cash, valuables and passports, and fled towards the railway line nearby,” Sharma stated.

Meanwhile, Amit rushed to the car and contacted the police with the help of some passers-by and the petrol pump staff.

After police and ambulance reached the spot the injured were given first aid. Reshu Mali has lodged a case at the Wadgaon Maval police station.

Police Inspector Vijay Jadhav from Wadgaon Maval police station said, “Mali stopped his car at an isolated spot on the expressway. There was no CCTV camera around the spot where the crime happened. We hope to get some clues soon.”